Human Development and Family Studies (HD FS)

HD FS 229
(GS)
Infant and Child Development (3) Theory, research, and methods of social/behavioral/biological sciences related to developmental processes and intervention during infancy and childhood.

HD FS 229 Infant and Child Development (3)(GS)

(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

This course introduces students to the study of children from the prenatal period to (not including) adolescence. Students will become familiar with the most prominent theoretical ideas about child development. The latest research on prenatal development, infancy, early and middle childhood will inform the discussions, and students will become familiar with key studies. The major domains of children's functioning covered include social interactions and emotional development, cognitive changes and acquisition of language, physiological growth in infancy and biological changes that underlie the transition out of childhood into adolescence. A key feature of this course is how processes in these different domains interact to influence children's overall adaptation. Finally, informed by a life course developmental framework, this course will place these developmental processes in context. Students will become familiar with the theoretical and empirical literature that locates children's growth and development in the context of families and family change, peer groups, neighborhoods and communities, and the larger cultural context within which they are embedded. Students will be evaluated across several performance areas which may include tests, writing assignments, group projects, and participation in class discussions and panels. This course will be offered five times a year at University Park and varying amounts at Altoona and the Commonwealth Campuses. Enrollments vary by semester and location: Fall/Spring: 15-50 students at the Commonwealth and Altoona locations; 100-200 at University Park. Summer: 10-20 at the Commonwealth and Altoona locations; 20-30 at University Park.

This is the official bulletin of The Pennsylvania State University.
Programmatic expectations for General Education are those in effect at the
time of admission to degree candidacy, and college and major requirements
are those in effect at the time of entry to college and major. These are
accurately indicated in each student's degree audit.

The University reserves the right to change the requirements and regulations
listed here and to determine whether a student has satisfactorily met its
requirements for admission or graduation, and to reject any applicant for
any reason the University determines to be material to the applicant's
qualifications to pursue higher education. Nothing in this material should
be considered a guarantee that completion of a program and graduation from
the University will result in employment.

The University Faculty Senate has responsibility for and authority over all
academic information contained in the Undergraduate Bulletin.